Create an Automated Customized Suite Installer in Volume License Manager

This article will guide you through customizing the installation of your Volume License Installer (VLI) and automating the software installation process, including configuring it to point to a license server.

If you are following this guide, it means you already have a VLI available to work with.

If you do not yet have a VLI, you can learn how to create one here: Creating Volume License Installers.

Step 1: Customizing the Installation Using Spec Files

The contents of a Volume License Installer would look like this once created:

1. Launch your Windows Command Prompt (Cmd.exe) from your Desktop Menu and point to the folder directory using the cd <directory> command. Or navigate to the folder Shift+Right click the folder and selecting Open in Terminal.
2. Input Setup /generatespecfile C:\<path to save spec file> into the command line.
3. The setup.exe file will start to run, but will not install the software. Go through the installation normally, and choose the configuration you want, such as which files to install.
4. Once the installer has finished running, locate the newly made spec file and make sure it is in the same folder as the setup.exe file.
5. Navigate to the main VLI directory.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 for the setup.exe file in the main VLI directory.

Step 2: Create a Batch File

You can choose to create a .bat in which you can include a variety of commands like allowing for the installer to run silently.

This file can be added to the main VLI directory to be distributed and allow for users to run the installer without having to go through the process of installing and navigating through the installer steps.

For more information on how to create a file like this and automate the installer you can use the following document as a reference: Automating an Installer.

Additional Information

• Suites are bundles that contain multiple pieces of software such as the Embedded Control Monitoring Suite. You can determine if you have a suite installer or a single product installer, such as a device driver or LabVIEW, by referring to Determine Type and Version of My National Instruments Installer .
• Suited installers contain multiple individual installers that can be installed using one main installer. You can select which software from the suite you wish to installer and then run the program. This removes the need for user interaction in between each installation of individual programs. 
• 2019 Software has moved to installation through package manager. In order to create an installer in VLM for 2019 software or later, you will need to be running VLM 3.2 or greater.